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“Music is something that always lifts my spirits and makes me happy, and when I make music, I always hope it will have the same effect on whoever listens to it.” Watching his big brother, Nick Carter, wow young fans with the Backstreet Boys, Aaron Carter had high hopes of launching his own music career. He broke into the music scene at seven years old and, just two years later, released his self-titled debut album in 1997. With the album selling over a million copies around the globe, Carter cashed in on his growing fame and released his second album, Aaron’s Party (Come Get It) in 2000.

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Eventually going on tour with the Backstreet Boys and making appearances on Nickelodeon, Carter settled into fame and released his next albums, Oh Aaron in 2001 and Another Earthquake in 2002. His 2002 release marked the end of an era for the teenage heartthrob who waited another 16 years before returning to the studio. During his absence, he struggled to find staying power with a guest appearance on Dancing with the Stars and theatrical performances in Broadway musicals Seussical and The Fantasticks. Recently returning to the music industry, let’s take a closer look at the 31-year-old’s life and career from teen heartthrob to bankruptcy and beyond!

Life and Career

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Hailing from Tampa, Florida after his parents exchanged the hustle of New York City for a sunnier retirement in the south, Aaron Charles Carter came into this world on December 7, 1987. His older brother, Nick, already had a prosperous music career with the Backstreet Boys, which is what inspired the young Carter to pursue his own interests in music at an early age. With his parent’s blessing, he started performing early and made his debut on stage at seven years old as the lead singer of a local Tampa rock band known as Dead End. While the experience was valuable, Carter’s interest in pop music took him in a new direction.

Carter made his solo debut in March 1997 when he opened for the Backstreet Boys in Berlin singing a cover of The Jets’ “Crush on You.” The audience went wild over Carter who was offered a recording contract later in the year and released his debut single, “Crush on You.” In December 1997, he released his self-titled debut album, which sold over a million copies and was certified gold in Germany, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Spain. He released his next album, Aaron’s Party (Come Get It), in 2000 and enjoyed even greater success thanks to singles like “I Want Candy” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq.” The album sold over three million copies in the United States and sealed Carter’s fate as a teen heartthrob when the album received airplay on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.

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Carter’s fame blossomed over the next few years as he opened for the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears and turned heads when he started dating teen actress Hilary Duff. He made his acting debut in 2001 on an episode of Duff’s hit series, Lizzie McGuire, and made his Broadway debut at 14 in a production of Seussical the Musical. From there, he released his third album, Oh Aaron, and saw his stardom truly come full circle when Play Along Toys debuted their Aaron Carter action figure!

Personal Troubles—Hiatus and Bankruptcy

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Almost as fast as he skyrocketed to fame, Carter lost it all in 2003 when his parents confirmed their divorce just hours before he was set to shoot an episode for MTV’s Cribs. The news devastated the young singer and sent him into a deep depression that ultimately cost him his fortune, fame, and career. “I had to show all the cameras my life that I was losing, and nobody ever knew it,” he said of filming the episode. “I couldn’t dwell on [the divorce]. I couldn’t think about it too much. I kind of had to block it out. I started partying and getting into a lot of trouble. With everything that was happening, I started losing all my money and I went broke.”

Carter made one last attempt to save his career when he put on his dancing shoes for the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars in 2009. He finished in fifth place and had big plans to return to the music scene but, by then, his reputation as a party-hard star preceded him. “No one was interested in me,” Carter said of the industry shunning him. “They didn’t want to touch me. They didn’t want to do anything with me.”

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In January 2011, Carter checked into the Betty Ford Center where he spent 31 days in treatment. He was released in February and returned to the stage at a benefit concert in New Jersey in March 2011. Later in the year, he starred in an Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks at the Snapple Theater Center in New York City and started slowly rebuilding his reputation before tragedy struck in 2012 when he lost his sister, Leslie, to a drug overdose. The loss marked rock bottom for Carter who promised his sister he would pay for rehab just days before her death. A year later, he filed bankruptcy when the IRS confirmed he owed over $3.5 million in unpaid income taxes. “This is not a negative thing,” Carter’s publicist said. “It’s actually very positive. It’s Aaron doing what he needs to do to move forward.”

Carter settled his debts in 2014 and launched the Wonderful World Tour later in the year. He returned to the studio to work on several singles including “Fool’s Gold” and “Sooner or Later.” “Everything makes me want to prove something. Every obstacle that I’m put through, I’m turning into a positive,” Carter said. Certainly doing his best to turn every negative into a positive, the 31-year-old Carter released his fifth studio album, Love, in February 2018. The same month, he admitted himself into a treatment center in Malibu, California and has since confirmed that he still struggles with anxiety and addiction, both of which worsened after the death of his father in May 2017 and his breakup with his longtime girlfriend. With no updates since then, we certainly hope Carter is doing well and working toward his dreams of one day settling down and starting a family amid his waning stardom.